Learning a new Language

For preparation of civil services exam, I decided to take up a literature subject. With talks to some of my friends, who gave suggestions that its success ratio was good and short syllabus, easy subject, I decided to study Maithili literature and having some knowledge of its talking style. Later, when I started studying the subject, I realized, I had only superficial knowledge of the subject. Further, I realized the real picture was not as presented by some of my friends who had advised to take up the subject. This language has as many as 21 verbs. In English, the verbs do not depend too much on noun. For example:

I eat. You eat. They eat. He eats. She eats. All of them eat, etc, etc.

In Maithili, the verb changes with all these nouns! There are as many as 21 of this kind! No wonder, the language was invented by some of the most intellect of their times. Its inventors added too much emphasis on the prestige element of the sentence.

For example: (Hindi)-(English)-(Maithili)

(Tum kha rahe ho)- (you are eating)-(tao khait chathi)
(aap kha rahe hain)-(you are eating)-(taon khait chathin)
(aap log kha rahe hain)- (You are eating) – (taonsabh khait (verb changes))
(wo log kha rahe hain) - (They are eating) – (oosabh khait (verb changes))
(ye log kha rahe hain) – (These people are eating) – (eesabh khait (verb changes))

As we note, verb changes in Maithili, each time a noun changes its form either in gender, singular, plural or respect. There is too much emphasis on the respect element in the language of Maithili.

One of the examples given by my teacher in class for the “respect”element, where he wanted to show if not used properly, it’s a joke.

Example: A new daughter-in-law starts to learn Maithili and spelled this in Maithili as :“the crow came and took away the bread” -> “kaua alkhin aa roti leke ur gelkhin”.
“alkhin” and “gelkhin” is to be used as a respect element and not for low strata animal.
One student started laughing too loudly in the class after hearing the sentence, as if he heard the divine joke!

In exams, we don’t have to speak, rather, we have to write. We have to write correct! As I realized soon after attending a few classes, the subject was not interesting me, or may be the reason, the teacher’s teaching style did not interest me!

But, one thing is certain, learning a new language is not a cake walk. At this age and learning style, I am not able to learn the grammar of a new language. But, I learnt “hindi” when I was a kid. I had sufficient good enough knowledge (writing, reading and speaking) of the subject at the age of 10 years. Of course people from different states have good knowledge of their native language at the same young age. People from Mithilanchal have good knowledge of Maithili at this age. I learnt English good enough by the age I reached class 8 (12 years of age). Most of the learnings of English took place while I was in class 8~9 with reading lots of English story books from the school library. I learnt English good enough in plain two years with normal routine and not with great emphasis only on the English subject.

This certainly implies the learning ability of a kid is unmatched! When I realized, learning even the grammar of a new subject is not easy at this elder age of now, It made me think, when a kid is learning a new language in the starting phase of his/her life, he/she is not making an ordinary progress. It’s the extra-ordinary achievement of a kid at that level, which makes me to believe, “If a kid can learn a new language at so young age, he can certainly learn any other activity and has the potential to achieve excellence in his/her life”.
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Note: The views expressed above are my own...

My friend...

***
O my friend !
How I wish, there could be more like you around me !
***

What gives the most satisfaction !

After a long time, I visited my home. I think, family (including friends) and education are two things which give the most satisfaction.

Had a good interaction with parents, brothers and sisters.

At this point of time, I have not joined any job to save my time for self study ! But, I am always satisfied that due to education I have, I can get a good job any time!

As of now, I think, I have sufficient time available, before I can settle upon a job finally, and further responsibilities!

...

(more to be added later)



Choices

Choices be made right!
..

Flight vs Rail

I remember, when I was a kid, I had visited Patna airport once just to see an aeroplane, take off and landing. Seeing the aeroplane landing and taking off, It was so beautiful, I had asked my parents whether, we would also sit on aeroplane some day! My mother said, "son, we have done, whatever, we could do. Now, all these demands are to be met by you!"

***

Certainly, a flight journey these days is not a very privilaged wish as used to be some 10 years back, as the flight fare is low as compared to hike in salary. But, for me a flight journey is not a matter of choice/luxury, rather, a necessity! Rail distance from kolkata to Agartala could be around 1500-2000 kms. whereas, the air distance is only 400 kms. This is due to presence of Bangladesh plugged into lower arm of northeastern states!

To travel by rail, It takes more than 48 hours, where as by flight, It's less than an hour!

***

However, a luxurious journey adapts oneself to it so much so that other travel modes seems inferior and unwanted. I also had to visit Delhi recently! The Rajdhani express and AC berths are full before the sleeper class, clearly depicting people getting richer,or low fare as compared to hike in salary/ income! To add to it, there are so many people who have to travel, so, Sleeper class becomes like a local train, with so many waitlisted passengers! Yet, a night joureny is just good, as we reach our destination while in our sleep, but, if trains too late, it really is a kind of harassment.

***

I believe, a long flight journey is yet low cost as compared to land travel, if we perform a nice analysis, including all costs. Whereas, to travel by land, we have to develop a complete land infrastructure, It's not so for the air travel, where the complete space is the route, which requires no additional cost! The infrastructure which needs development is only while taking off and landing, the two end terminals. I believe, for long journey, air travel is the future! If somehow, cost of fuel could be reduced, air travel would be very economical! A plane carries more number of passengers than a "train with specified number of berths" in the same time interval, due to more number of trips possible due to high speed of aeroplane and hence less time taken.

Vacation: Boring days!

No work and full pay! Just gets too boring to imagine life next two months! However, me and some of my friends have decided to utilize this time in our own personal good like health and fitness! Let's see. Hope, I do not be too lazy!

April and disturbing!

This April was relatively calm as compared to others! However, An incident occured in first week of April which had very high potential of destruction and/or bad reputation to our group friends at our present stay.

It was mere luck and coincidence that I was present in my flat and that I noticed the smoke coming out of my adjacent room. When, I opened the room completely, It was too horrible sight and I was shocked to find the bed in flames. The fire was at its initial stage and could be controlled soon. The cause of fire was not established, but having no other clue, we concluded an electric short-circuit might be the cause!

Being a villager!

Rightly described as "gaonwalo" by my friend Chinmay :)

The last movie I watched in a cinema hall was "I hate love stories" at City centre, Salt Lake, Kolkata in July last year! There are no cinema halls at Agartala!

Places around my present stay don't have restaurants! and to travel 20 kms to main town just to visit a restaurant! or just visit a restaurant when you visit the town!

Ok, there is something more! To have the cash in my hand, visit the nearest ATM which is around 10 kms away from the university campus!

What if suddenly, you need to send some letters through speed post! Go and visit the town!

However, Inside university campus, very good facilities of residence, electricity, water, internet, etc. exist! So, At least not so bad!

India wins the Cricket World Cup 2011

Yesterday(02-April-2011) was the glorious moment for Indians as we won the Cricket WorldCup. I was watching it live on TV with my friends and was overjoyed when Dhoni hit a last sixer to win the match against SriLanka. Finally, the SriLankan captain had to say, 'Even 350 runs could be less for Indians!' a marvellous inning was played by Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni which brought India on the track of winning the game after losing two early wickets of Sehwag and Tendulkar.

Below here in the picture is the winning sixer shot by MS Dhoni, being watched by two captains very eagerly!

Kolkata to Agartala via Imphal

Day before yesterday (on Sunday), I had to travel from Kolkata to Agartala. There are many direct flights from Kolkata to Agartala. However, I wanted to enjoy the flight experience as direct flight duration from Kolkata to Agartala is too short (only 40-50 minutes). So, Intentionally, I booked long duration flight via Imphal. It was of an extra hour duration! When I informed my mother of my longer journey, she was too scared! :D She said that flight journey was risky so, one should avoid it. She said that my behavior was too childish and warned me not to repeat the same again!

The flight experience is too breathtaking! The whole journey seems to be like travelling in a hanging vehicle with no or little jerking! It feels like just sitting on a chair and enjoying the outside clouds (I always book my ticket at the window seat). Last time, I had an opportunity to see a very big size rainbow in the sky (too awesome view).

The Precious Thing

One life and to achieve the most precious thing in life, one has to do nothing !!!

General rule 1 : Don't make any precious choice, the precious gift come to you !

Face to face with the President

It was 2 years back from now, in summer of 2007. The memory had gradually faded away. Today [04-Aug-09], I read an article in Hindustan Times, where Former president,Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam went to an office of Hindustan Times and interacted with journalists and children. The memory of two years back refreshed in my mind.

The President had to deliver a lecture at Netaji auditorium, IIT Kharagpur. Students/Teachers wishing to listen to him had to get an entry pass ready beforehand. I didn’t have one. Actually, I didn’t try for that perhaps due to my laziness. Anyway, as the moments came closer, I saw some of my friends getting ready to attend the lecture session. I didn’t have an entry pass, so as usual, I decided to go with my normal routine : “attend classes which were to be scheduled around that time”. I took a notebook and pen and rided my bicycle to the Institute Main building. Reaching there, I found, the classes were cancelled ! (It was a good news, though ! J). Ok. So my next task was to forget about classes and at least try to get a seat inside the lecture hall. Reaching there, I realized, the security was tight and they would not allow any one without an entry pass.

I decided to stay outside the lecture hall, at least just to have a look at the President. I stood outside the Netaji auditorium, at around 50 metres distance from the entry gate at a bicycle shed. There were other persons like me – students and staff members alike waiting in anticipation for a look at the president. And between us and hall were two security guards, who won’t allow anyone move closer. We just stood there and waited. After around 30-40 minutes when the lecture session got over, the President came out and all eyes were at him, in deep silence to respect a human of great value. The president had a look around and saw us standing. He just waved his hand at us… and the reaction of the people: people standing were so delighted. Our steps became uncontrolled and started moving towards him as if uncontrollable. Moving ahead 5-10 steps, we realized we could not come more closer to him. The security guards were there and their duty was to prevent us coming closer to him. I realized that time, how great a personality he is, for whom the respect comes from within…

The joy of Life - "SEASONS"

Long days happened and I have not written anything. While I am thinking what to write, ………. I think my stay at home this winter vacation may be a nice topic.

One thing is of prime importance here - winter season. Our daily habits/ routine are to a large extent affected by the surrounding weather conditions. I have been liking winter season more as compared to other seasons such as summer, rainy, or autumn. After winter comes the place of rains, then autumn and finally summer.

This sequence of “liking of seasons” largely varies with respect to the kind of people or their daily routine/ needs. My mother likes the winter season least. The reason – the day is very short and she has do a lot of house hold work, and touching water in winter (for washing purpose or cleaning utensils or even cooking) is like hitting hand hard. Though certain developments have taken place in my home recently like the introduction of a washing machine, water storage and supply system, etc etc , she continues to dislike winter season. However, I think, this is her child like temporary assumption …… as her worst season keeps on changing with time and most of the times is the present season itself. In summer when it is too hot, she says…. this is very bad. The best is something else .. and so on….. Many office goers also have to brave the cold during winter season.

For office goers/ business persons (at crowded market), I believe that it would be the rainy season they like the least. Rain at the time of going to or coming from office is a major problem. Water-logging due to unplanned drainage systems and due to wastes created by the public itself is a major problem at market/ crowded areas. This is a typical condition of a normal Indian town. However rain brings with itself ….. something not explainable in words. It can be experienced only through getting wet in the rain and dancing in the rain. Children like this season the most….. why should not they? …. Is there any worry to think for (if get cold/ fever)? Children have this setup in their mind there is someone who takes care of them – their parents. They are like free molecules experiencing random motion …. And an adult becomes a child once get wet in the rain.

I have seen youths biking on the road while it rains. The mere temptation to feel the rain drives them towards the open sky. There can be no feeling better than facing the open sky and dancing to the tune of nature while it rains. It seems as if u r being kissed, loved, showered upon by the almighty. And, even there is a joy while trying to prevent getting wet (often with the help of umbrella while it rains). And, this joy increase manifold once the two of you are under the same umbrella…….

While I tried to write what I did this winter vacation, I wrote largely about different seasons and my views for them. (summer is still left… this will be covered on a later date and once I do that, I’ll delete this sentence.)

The cold in winter attacks from all sides until first it has its barrier at the walls of home. And even then, cold skips into the house (until it is air-conditioned). And then u take the help of a quilt. Can a feeling of lying in the quilt while it’s totally chill outside be lesser valued … or even sitting around a fireplace and gossiping / having hot tea … Sleeping in a quilt is like returning to womb … And when u wake up the next morning, it is like your rebirth! We twist and turn while in sleep, get lost in our dreams and a series of so many pleasurable probabilities occur. The sun graces all the living being with its heat… and the same people who avoided even exposing to the sun in summer are dying for it now in winter. with the sun happens the life and with the sun happens a standstill…

Dealing with options

Many times we are faced with simultaneously many options and given this condition is true, many times we are faced with selecting a single option.Where selecting a specific particular option is not of great relevance, even then we tend to select an option which best suits and fits our needs/ conditions.

The case of interest in our discussion arises when we are faced with more than one alternatives. At such cases, often confusion(s) arise that may lead to wrong decisions! Many approaches can be followed while making an important decision or choosing. The processes for choosing an option can be broadly classified into the following two

1)Taking the help of mind and analytically calculating and guessing the results of chosen option.

2)Let the things go as they go...

The first method is generally based on certain logical reasonings. A very well calculated guess generally results in the desired result. This process can be really very complex but can be made simpler with some good techniques.

One of them is "the method of elimination". many times it happens that the process of "elimination" is much simpler than the process of "selection".Why ? The condition for "elimination to occur" is fulfilled when any of the conditions produce negative result(s). So here we have to look for any unfavorable situation and hence make a conclusion. On the other hand, considering selection, we have to consider all possibilities ... which may be really confusing. The method of elimination is greatly helpful when a large number of options exist. "Elimination " is what the IITs and IIMs adopt for admitting students to their academic programs. Candidates who survive the process of elimination are the winners and hence are the ones who are "selected". Whereas the two processes are fundamentally different, they may produce more or less similar result(s).

Difference between procedures followed by individuals and rigid systems like institutes (IITs, IIMs,....etc): An individual while taking into consideration the past of a particular option, carefully examines the future of the chosen option. A rigid or well defined system like the selection process of institutes entirely depends on the past of chosen option...

The other method pointed above is "let things go as they go". This is an option generally preferred by people and is self explained. This is more concerned with attitude.

For an individual, the above two classified methods generally would have great different impacts on his/ her life.It can not be inferred with clarity which option would have been the best/ better. My experience shows that in real life situation problems, applying logic does not help many times.

The best option for an individual: Choosing a good option may be a necessary condition to achieve the desired result, but may not be the sufficient condition. So after choosing a particular option, emphasis should be on "positive attitude". Most of the options have the potential to lead to good results...so main emphasis should be on "positive attitude" Adopting this attitude, even a bad option may turn into good option.

"taste"

"taste"

if u r really hungry, u find some water somewhere and gallop that very fast. even a normal meal is so tasty...and u eat till the last grain is in your mouth.

to have a change u may like to have something different.so there is a deviation from normal meal. and the business of all agri-food products and dhabas,hotels,etc flourish.just imagine some ice-cream or a chilling lassi on a hot summer day and u may like to have one now. this is the "spending" side of taste where mostly money is involved and u directly have the feel of taste.

cooking/ creating new eatable stuffs can be a very good time-pass.

a home can be seen in a kitchen every time a couple prepare some food together and their children come to see what is in store for them. a couple may have some indifferences and that's not visible in kitchen.

so do u agree, "taste bonds relationships ?"

so next time, when u are hungry prepare some food stuff and engage your friends/brothers/sisters with u and enjoy the festival of "taste"!

vote 4 new 7 wonders

please take some time. login on www.new7wonders.com and cast ur vote for new 7 wonders of the world.

"home" and "home away from home"

after 3 days i have to go home, but the excitement and enthusiasm to meet family members has faded away.this was not the case while i was in school and we would eagerly wait for vacation. we used to have separate column on blackboard of our class as"DLFGH" meaning "days left for going home" and that was updated daily by monitor of class.

time have changed and probably we become more realistic as we grow up.

but, each time i go home even if i get bored and too much bored sometimes, i get attached to my family members and dont want really to come back, i am forced to come back not by my family members but my inner voice says it-"you have no other option. think it as your duty" and then with a smile on my face i come back to learn...and as days pass, i forget about home, that does not fascinate me anymore....and slowly college becomes my life........

many good things are invisible..

"the art/habit of writing" to many people may seem to be an affair of literature lovers. a good writing requires a lot of patience and devotion, however it is not difficult but interesting.it may serve as a hobby, but alongside it has manifold advantages.

writing truth in a personal diary not only reduces some stress (if at all present), but also tries to develop a better understanding towards the complex issues of life.the judgement power is greatly inhanced. writing truth in one's diary is bound to make his/her life better.

in your memory...

"....those moments, a silent storm was on its full power within me of which i was a mute spectator, the storm which had few chances to arise earlier and i was feeling the warmth of heaven in your lap...."